Double Coated Dogs & Grooming

Double coats, also known as undercoat, are very fine, fluffy hairs closest to the skin. Double coats insulate the dog. It is their raincoat. This keeps them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Many dog owners believe Long-haired, double-coated dogs need to be shaved in order to be cool in the summer.Unless the dog has passed the point of no return in the matting department, the best type of grooming for these dogs is a vigorous undercoat raking with a special tool that helps remove the undercoat. Once the undercoat has been thinned out, the dog does feel cooler. The guard hairs on the top, which do not shed out, provide protection against sunburn and actually insulate the dog from the heat. So I highly recommend not to ever shave certain dogs like Labs, Boxers, Beagles and German Shepherds.

Another thing many dog owners believe is that cutting a dogs hair off will cause the dog not to shed. This is not necessarily true. Dogs with undercoats shed. After a cut, it may shed shorter hair, but it will still shed.

Many of my clients say to me, ”Don’t worry, it’ll grow back.” Well, sometimes it will. However, the older the dog is, the less likely the guard hairs will re-grow. While the undercoat will re-grow, the upper hairs sometimes do not. This gives the dog a patchy, scruffy, frizzy appearance.

If there is ever a question about what is best for your dogs coat and maintenance just ask, I’ll give you a proper evaluation and go on from there.